Developing new homes is a challenging business. As in other parts of the UK, accessing suitable sites for development is a major barrier to delivery, as is the growing opposition among communities to new social housing in their area.

Unique to Northern Ireland is a restrictive procurement regime that requires housing associations to follow the same procurement policy approaches as government departments and their agencies. This has necessarily created a system focused on compliance and processes, rather than innovation and outcomes.

The planning system in Northern Ireland is another frequently cited obstacle to increased delivery of new homes. Slow and time-consuming processes frustrate development and Northern Ireland is also the only region in the UK and Republic of Ireland not to have some form of developer contribution. To read more on the development challenges in Northern Ireland have a look at this blog by Jennie Donald, Deputy Chief Executive, NIFHA.